Baseball (TV Mini Series) The National Pastime (1994) User Reviews

All About Jackie

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 12 August 2007]

Well, being a Liberal and having this on very politically-correct network - PBS - almost this entire two-and-a-half hour segment (the longest one of the nine) is devoted to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. It is a tribute not only to Robinson, and what he went through, but to Branch Rickey who signed him to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Despite the overdone bias, I still found most of it interesting and shook my head in amazement as the abuse Robinson had to put up with many times. He was a strong man.

Also in this segment are amazing achievements by two other players: Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, and both achievements came in 1941. DiMaggio had his 56-game hitting streak, which still stands, and Williams batted .406 and that's the last time anyone hit over .400 in a season.

This video ends on a very sad note: the death of Babe Ruth.

What a Time for the Sport

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 24 January 2015]

There's so much here it's too much to cover in a brief review. Roughly the years 1940 to 1950 are the focus. The first thing we are treated to is the year 1941. It brings into focus two great players, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. In addition to one of the greatest World Series ever, we had the incredible 56 game hitting streak of DiMaggio. This is one record that I would stake my life on that will never be broken. Then you have the brash Williams, hitting .406 and refusing to sit out the last two games of the season which would have given him a .400 average. The final days of Babe Ruth are closely followed, including his death at only 53 years of age. We get to see how the Dodgers came to power in the National League. Their owner went out and broke the bank to pull in a varied group of players. There is significant time devoted to what happened during the war where a majority of players were off representing their country. There is a feature on women's baseball, which was really quite good. Of course, the true event of change was the story of Jackie Robinson, whose integration into the game was orchestrated by Branch Rickey. It does a great job of showing the tribulations of this incredible man who was under a microscope every day, dealing with death threats and epithets. It was a battle in every stadium he played. Excellent production, great film, and exciting narration.

A Busy Decade

[Michael_Elliott · 14 June 2012]

Baseball: Sixth Inning 'The National Pastime' (1994)

**** (out of 4)

Clocking in at 148-minutes, this sixth entry was the longest of the series up to this point and it's easy to see why as 1940-1949 featured a war, legendary accomplishments that haven't been touched to this day and a major movement in Civil Rights. Such subjects include Ted Williams' attempt at hitting ,400, Joe DiMaggio's hit streak, the Red Sox getting back to the World Series, Josh Gibson's death, Yankee Stadium's 25th Anniversary and the death of Babe Ruth. Also covered is the impact of WWII, which led to replacement players including the one armed Pete Gray as well as the first women's league of professional players. The biggest subject comes from the race relations, which were still prevented blacks from playing in the Major Leagues but that was all about to change with the signing of Jackie Robinson. If you've made it through the first five episodes of this series then you already know what a terrific bit of entertainment and history it is and that continues with this. It's really amazing to think that the decade kicked off with the tremendous work of DiMaggio and Williams only to then quickly change to the World War and then end with the rise of Robinson and the death of Ruth. There's so much packed in this episode that it really gives you not only a great idea of what was going on in baseball but also in America. Some of the best moments talk about the various changes that happened to the sport during WWII and we also get to learn about some of the players who went to fight in the war as well as some who were killed in battle. The stuff with Robinson is also something amazing to listen to and not just because of what he accomplished on the field but the great abuse he took in reaching his goals. This here will certainly appeal to baseball fans but even history buffs will be entertained.